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Volume 12: The Fool
The Fool (馬鹿者) is the twelfth volume of the Silver Diamond series. Publisher's Synopsis In order to protect the alternate world, Rakan has resolved to give the people greenery and hope as the Sanome Prince. Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital, there's an unexpected drama over the change in Kinrei and the Prince's master and servant relationship. What will happen to the alternate world as it continues to run in spite of these complications?! Here is volume 12, with 3 extra stories such as "Battle" which are too good to miss!! Plot Chapter 34: Sprouting Wings After a meal, Tohji is reading some fairy tales from a book, but he doesn’t fully understand what they are. So Narushige and Rakan try to explain what a fairy tale is, as well as the terms used in such a story, like “fairy maidens” or “tree spirits”. This prompts a discussion about plants having hearts or not. Chigusa says that plants are living creatures, and though they don’t have feelings like humans do, people can feel the kindness that trees emanate. They also point out that Rakan often talks to plants while taking care of them, which is unusual in this dry world, as plants are scarce. Rakan admits that it’s not that uncommon for hobbyists to talk to plants or flowers in his own world. This conversation makes Rakan ask about the plants in the capital, and Narushige tells him that though they can be found there, very little of it is public and the rest is underground; specifically under the palace. Tohji adds that plants and foodstuffs are monopolized and distributed by the Manasaki and Kingen clans, and that nobody protests against it. Then Rakan is told about the Kingen clan. They can only marry among themselves, as they are considered representatives of God, and don’t want to dilute their bloodline. This strict rule has caused the number of their children to decrease so that there are only four to five people in the Kingen clan today. Kinrei has no siblings and his father is also very ill; therefore Kinrei is his only successor and the last Kingen, as there are no more women left in the clan. When Rakan wanted to know about other clans, they told him that the Shigeka is another odd one. Its members remained unmarried during their lifetime, they consummate with randomly chosen outsiders, and then they return to the clan to have their children. A bit shocked by all this information, Rakan asks about Kingen clan again, commenting about their unique physical traits, such as golden hair and dark skin color; the fact that Kinrei is the only one that can hear the Prince’s voice makes him more special. Narushige admits that this last characteristic is what makes people want to cling tightly to Kinrei so as not to lose their God’s representative. At that moment the Tsubaki given by Karaku arrives, announcing that the bath is ready. As they have to bathe in pairs, Chigusa quickly tells Rakan to go with him, but Narushige and Tohji immediately react, claiming that the order hasn’t been decided yet. Rakan suggests solving the problem by playing “paper, rock, scissors”, but he has to explain the rules to his puzzled friends. After playing it, Narushige and Rakan (and Koh) take the first turn while Tohji teases Chigusa, saying that the other guy’s good sight wouldn't help him this time. But then Tohji's mood turns sour when he realizes that he has to bathe with Chigusa. The scene shifts to the room where the Prince is being held captive by the stone creature Kinrei created. Some ayame birds slip through a window and attack the creature to set him free, but they are unable to break the rock. The Prince cannot move, as each movement causes the cuts made by the stone being to get deeper. At the same time, his blood is being absorbed, he's losing his strength, and his "voice" cannot be heard either. He tries to think of another way to get out and discovers that he still has the power to use his special sight, so he focuses on searching for something that has to do with “words”, “bookshelf” and “scroll”. Back with Rakan, who's thinking deeply about what Koh had told him about calling himself the Sanome Prince and wonders if people would be more at ease if he revealed himself with that title. He wants everyone to know that the Prince is really an Ayame, but he also understands that being a Sanome Prince implies becoming this world’s “Child of God” and all the responsibilities that comes with that position. And he feels scared. At that moment, he notices that Chigusa is staring at him. Chigusa perceives that Rakan is in deep thought and, knowning that Rakan is prone to keeping all of his troubles to himself, he tells him to share his worries with his friends. Narushige agrees, saying that in this way, Rakan’s burden will lessen. He adds that Rakan, as the youngest in the group, can definitely rely on both them and on Kazuhi ’s men. Comforted by all these words, Rakan thanks his friends for their support and confesses he’s a bit afraid. But he now truly understands that he’s not alone anymore. Meanwhile, Kazuhi and his men, along with Hakubi, are fighting their way up to the surface. They realize that they have to climb up the last part of their route, but the idea of climbing the cliff wall scares Hakubi. Akiichi explains that they're used to it, as they’ve had to climb mountains frequently to find food since they were abandoned on the frontier by Kinrei and the Prince. Then Kazuhi teases Hakubi, calling him “bocchan” Bocchan means "Young Master" while offering to throw down a rope for him once they reach the top. However, Hakubi is a proud and stubborn man and decides to follow them. It takes him a while, but he finally gets to the surface where the other men are waiting for him. And all of them, including Hakubi, are taken aback by the beauty of the trees, plants and flowers that seem to welcome their arrival. Kazuhi’s group knows it was Rakan’s work and they are delighted with it, and even Hakubi is touched by the pretty and unexpected view. After that, the scene shifts to a small town on the cliff whose inhabitants had previously received a letter and seeds from Rakan. While they are discussing what they should do to survive, Rakan and Chigusa appear before them, taken up there with the help of a Ladder plant. They at first think he’s the Prince, but Rakan corrects them, saying that he’s the Sanome Prince. The eldest man thanks him for his help (though he admits he found the letter weird at first). At the same time, the captured Prince in the palace smiles triumphantly; his search is over. He’s found what he’s been looking for. Chapter 35: The Fool The chapter begins with a flashback about Kinrei as a boy, the last child of the Kingen clan. Despite his young age, he’s described to be “calmly desperate” at first, as he understands that the world he lives in (a world with a dark sky and little water) is about to end. He was once told that his mother had passed away after giving birth to him, and he thought that that was a very natural outcome. And with that logical mind, he reflects that killing himself in his dying world would be a foolish, meaningless thing to do. He considers what his next step should be and begins to search for a way to survive and extend his life-span, so he decides to read as many books as he can every day, including records from other eras. In one of those records, he finds that the Kingen are able to hear God’s voice and act on behalf of Him. But he believes that there is no God and that’s why his world is in such a state. Suddenly he notices sand flowing in through a cracked wall and sees a scroll buried in the sand. This scroll tells about a secret door below the stone cemetery and how somebody can create puppets by mixing stones, ayame blood and human blood. As the scroll mentions “the seed of eternal life”, Kinrei becomes more interested. He believes the things narrated there are inconceivable, but decides to investigate anyway. Following the scroll’s words, he finds the secret door, which leads him to a place under the cemetery, a place shimmering in light, with plants and grass and trees everywhere. He even spots a beautiful woman and thinks she’s a Sanome, but Kinrei doesn’t understand what she’s doing there; she quickly disappears from his sight. Apart from her, he sees nobody else there. While he wonders where the light comes from, he stumbles upon two children sleeping and covered in blankets, protected by branches covered with thorns. The boys seemed to be twins, and Kinrei wonders if they're the Sanome’s children. At that moment, the boy on the right opens his eyes. He’s an Ayame. He extends his hand to Kinrei and declares that he will give power to Kinrei if he chooses him. He asks Kinrei the key question: “''Wouldn’t you like… to save yourself?” These words have a great impact on Kinrei; he doesn’t want to save or protect anybody else. He judges other people based on how useful they are to him, and so therefore isn't attached to anyone. As it is, he would use any means to save just his own life, and this ayame child, with his powers, vision and prophetic ability, could provide all that he ever wanted. And Kinrei accepts the Ayame’s proposal with the purpose of making him God’s Child and with the objective of controlling the world. He vows to himself to eventually find the seed of eternal life that will give him the immortality he fervently desires. Back in the present, Hakubi demands Kazuhi and his men give him some of their blood while the rest of the group looks at him in astonishment. Some of them ask if he wants to drink the blood, while others suspect he’s doing this because he's still their enemy. Angrily, Hakubi explains that he wants to create some puppets to travel on. He shouts at them, telling them that the capital is far away and he doesn’t want to spend that much energy traveling by foot. His intention is to use some stones he happened to have with the Prince’s blood and create puppets, applying what he learned from Kinrei. This way they could all ride on the stone puppets and save time and energy. Hakubi really wants to do something for Kazuhi’s group without revealing he wants to help them. He’s been without friends for years and doesn’t know how to express himself. As he tries, everybody sees through him and discovers he’s a good person after all, despite his harsh words and grumpy appearance. They finally agree to do as Hakubi instructs, and Hakubi is able to create a puppet huge enough to carry many of them on it. While they praise Hakubi for his skills, he gets more irritated because he keeps contradicting himself, telling the other guys not to call him the enemy when he had previously stated he was. Everybody finds it fun teasing him, though Kazuhi thanks him sincerely for what he’s done. And as Kazuhi decides to catch up with Rakan, Hakubi seems troubled when Rakan is mentioned, as he remembers how they parted the last time they saw each other. Meanwhile, present Kinrei is urged by his uncles to marry outside of their clan since there are no more Kingen women. But he isn't interested in anyone doesn't want to keep his bloodline alive either. He only wants to extend his own life. He reflects that nearly everything in his plans went as he wished and that his scroll can even replace the Prince´s prophecies. Despite all of it, he doesn’t feel excited or satisfied and wonders if he lacks something. Then Kinrei decides to see how the Prince is doing. He seems to be asleep, and Kinrei takes a piece of rock that was absorbing the Prince’s blood. While Kinrei thinks about creating more puppets with it, the boy opens his eyes and looks at him. Kinrei realizes that there's a hole in the wall and not long after that, a huge skeleton comes through it and frees the Prince. Kinrei is hurt by this gigantic creature and can’t do anything when an Ayame bird takes the piece of rock with the Prince’s blood and flies away with it. The Prince smiles slyly and he communicates with Kinrei, explaining that he created this skeleton after reading the scrolls he’d found in Kinrei’s room with his advanced sight. Combining his newly acquired knowledge, his skills, his blood, and the help of the Ayame, the Prince was able to find the head and summon the rest of the skeleton. After this explanation, the Prince offers to heal a badly hurt Kinrei, saying that he will recover quickly if he drinks his blood. Kinrei accepts, as he has no other choice; however the Prince asks him: “''Kinrei … you fool, do you really want my blood?” Kinrei replies: “''Yes''”, but the Prince tells him he cannot bear being used by anyone. He claims that he won’t give himself to anyone, not even Kinrei. After saying his farewells, he inflicts himself a huge wound on his neck and collapses. A shocked Kinrei runs to him and holds him in his arms while thinking: “''Prince … you really are a fool''”. Meanwhile, far away, a surprised Rakan feels a throb of pain in his neck. Chapter 36: Swirling Whirlpools Volume Extras Battle Rakan rubs Tohji's hair for therapeutic effects, and Chigusa decides he'd like to try it with Rakan. Constantly a Battlefield Continuation of "Battle". Chigusa rubs Tohji's hair, and on the suggestion of Koh, goes after Narushige's next. End of the War Continuation of "Constantly a Battlefield". Rakan and Chigusa discuss Chigusa's habit of teasing people he cares about. Editions sd12 french.jpg|Silver Diamond 12, French edition Sd12 german.jpg|Silver Diamond 12, German edition sd12.jpg|Silver Diamond 13, Japanese edition K12.jpg|Silver Diamond 12, Korean edition Reference Category:Volumes Category:Volumes 10-18